Karenia brevis

A patchy bloom of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, continues in the northeast Gulf of Mexico. Samples collected along and offshore of Taylor, Dixie, and Levy counties contained very low to high concentrations of K. brevis. Due to cloud cover, satellite images are not available this week.Several large fish kills have been reported in the bloom area. No respiratory irritation has been reported alongshore the west coast of Florida; however, respiratory irritation is possible in the bloom areas.Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides (CPR), a partnership between the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, show west/northwest movement of surface waters and inshore movement of bottom waters in the bloom patches between Taylor and Levy counties for the next three days.Additional samples analyzed throughout Florida this week did not contain Karenia brevis.A full status report will be provided this Friday, October 3, 2014
Tables and maps of sample results are available on our Web site: (http://myfwc.com/research/redtide/events/status/statewide/).

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see our flickr page at (http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwc) and click on “Harmful Algal Bloom Species”.

The FWRI HAB group in conjunction with Mote Marine Laboratory now have a facebook page. Please come like our page and learn interesting facts concerning red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida at: http://facebook.com/FLHABs

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on our Web site: (http://myfwc.com/research/redtide/events/status/statewide/). The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines: (http://myfwc.com/research/redtide/events/status/contact/).

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see our flickr page at (http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwc) and click on “Harmful Algal Bloom Species”.

The FWRI HAB group in conjunction with Mote Marine Laboratory now have a facebook page. Please come like our page and learn interesting facts concerning red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida at: http://facebook.com/FLHABs.